Jim Carroll
@jtccarroll.bsky.social
Editor, The Hot Screen; contributor at Flux
More here: /fin
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As elite complicity with Trumpism grows, a revival of democracy will require a social reckoning
With so many rich and powerful Americans leaning into self-preservation or even the benefits of authoritarian rule, the U.S. will need a cultural and economic reset as well as a political one
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November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
More here: /fin
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It feels increasingly likely that any successful political pushback and defeat of Trump and the far-right forces arrayed around him will necessarily involve a substantial social and economic earthquake as well. 22/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
It feels increasingly likely that any successful political pushback and defeat of Trump and the far-right forces arrayed around him will necessarily involve a substantial social and economic earthquake as well. 22/
But in light of the personalist, dictatorial rule that Trump is gunning for, reviving the idea of social obligation, not only on the part of those who have benefited most from our society, but among all of us, is essential. 21/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
But in light of the personalist, dictatorial rule that Trump is gunning for, reviving the idea of social obligation, not only on the part of those who have benefited most from our society, but among all of us, is essential. 21/
And of course the complicity is all the greater when we take into account those who are using their vast wealth to actively support those who aim to crush our collective voice, and to gain power and wealth through supporting a lawless president. 20/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
And of course the complicity is all the greater when we take into account those who are using their vast wealth to actively support those who aim to crush our collective voice, and to gain power and wealth through supporting a lawless president. 20/
It is a vast complicity with reactionary forces that gain advantage to the degree they can appear non-threatening and relatively normal when compared to the governance we have previously experienced. 19/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
It is a vast complicity with reactionary forces that gain advantage to the degree they can appear non-threatening and relatively normal when compared to the governance we have previously experienced. 19/
At a minimum, we are witnessing on a broad scale the fracturing and crumbling of this social compact, as so many of those with the power and megaphones to make their voices heard in defense of democracy simply. . . . aren’t doing anything. 18/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
At a minimum, we are witnessing on a broad scale the fracturing and crumbling of this social compact, as so many of those with the power and megaphones to make their voices heard in defense of democracy simply. . . . aren’t doing anything. 18/
As Marshall notes elsewhere, we often accord social esteem to such people not just because of their accomplishments, which may in themselves benefit the public, but also because their roles bring with them “incurred obligations.” 17/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
As Marshall notes elsewhere, we often accord social esteem to such people not just because of their accomplishments, which may in themselves benefit the public, but also because their roles bring with them “incurred obligations.” 17/
Key for me is his idea that people with immense power have “profited by this system,” and so in turn have “an obligation to defend it when it’s under severe threat.” 16/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Key for me is his idea that people with immense power have “profited by this system,” and so in turn have “an obligation to defend it when it’s under severe threat.” 16/
In a piece looking at the notion of “civic virtue” as understood by the Founders and as it might be understood today, @joshtpm.bsky.social zeroes in on a key point that deserves wider acknowledgment and discussion. 15/
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
Fear, Greed, Civic Virtue and the Fall of the Elites
Members of America’s founding generation had an ambivalent and evolving understanding of...
talkingpointsmemo.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
In a piece looking at the notion of “civic virtue” as understood by the Founders and as it might be understood today, @joshtpm.bsky.social zeroes in on a key point that deserves wider acknowledgment and discussion. 15/
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/fear-...
But just because there are sociological or economic explanations for the lack of elite resistance to Trump is not to excuse them. 14/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
But just because there are sociological or economic explanations for the lack of elite resistance to Trump is not to excuse them. 14/
While this is far different from the system of personalist authoritarianism that Trump is pursuing (where the approval or disapproval of Trump himself could determine one's fortunes), it’s still closer on the continuum to what he’s building than many of us would have thought. 13/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
While this is far different from the system of personalist authoritarianism that Trump is pursuing (where the approval or disapproval of Trump himself could determine one's fortunes), it’s still closer on the continuum to what he’s building than many of us would have thought. 13/
Instead, personal connections, knowledge of the minutiae of arcane laws, and a deep familiarity with the workings of government bureaucracy gain greater prominence. 12/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Instead, personal connections, knowledge of the minutiae of arcane laws, and a deep familiarity with the workings of government bureaucracy gain greater prominence. 12/
They operate in a realm where democracy (as understood in terms of basics like deference to popular opinion, subordination to the public good, and accountability) is often operative or relevant in only a secondary sense. 11/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
They operate in a realm where democracy (as understood in terms of basics like deference to popular opinion, subordination to the public good, and accountability) is often operative or relevant in only a secondary sense. 11/
The higher up the socioeconomic chain you go, the more you encounter people who are already intimately familiar with the quotidian distortions and corruptions of American democracy and society. 10/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
The higher up the socioeconomic chain you go, the more you encounter people who are already intimately familiar with the quotidian distortions and corruptions of American democracy and society. 10/
Crucially, this indifference or even outright hostility to majority rule and the rule of law is likely rooted in what has already been the experience of such elites even before Trump made his first presidential run. 9/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Crucially, this indifference or even outright hostility to majority rule and the rule of law is likely rooted in what has already been the experience of such elites even before Trump made his first presidential run. 9/
Then there’s the explanation that might seem most obvious, if also most cynical: some of these elites have consented to Trump’s lawlessness either because they agree with it, or, in a slightly more nuanced fashion, they see the benefits as outweighing the harms. 8/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Then there’s the explanation that might seem most obvious, if also most cynical: some of these elites have consented to Trump’s lawlessness either because they agree with it, or, in a slightly more nuanced fashion, they see the benefits as outweighing the harms. 8/
When you consider that those in elite positions in American institutions are disproportionately white, you can see how a theory of Trump’s expansive power that rests in white privilege might gain easier purchase among this layer of American society. 7/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
When you consider that those in elite positions in American institutions are disproportionately white, you can see how a theory of Trump’s expansive power that rests in white privilege might gain easier purchase among this layer of American society. 7/
in a stereotypical sense, salt of the earth, heartland types who are simply more American than, say, those who live in cities and are more likely to be minorities or naturalized immigrants. 6/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
in a stereotypical sense, salt of the earth, heartland types who are simply more American than, say, those who live in cities and are more likely to be minorities or naturalized immigrants. 6/
Trump can do what he wants because he has a sort of supposed mystical connection with the real will of the American people. You don’t need to look too far under the surface to grasp that these real Americans are those who are white and conservative — 5/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Trump can do what he wants because he has a sort of supposed mystical connection with the real will of the American people. You don’t need to look too far under the surface to grasp that these real Americans are those who are white and conservative — 5/
One persuasive explanation is offered by @thomaszimmer.bsky.social and others, wherein Trump’s victory is understood to represent the triumph of “real” Americans whose true desires are embodied by Donald Trump. 4/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
One persuasive explanation is offered by @thomaszimmer.bsky.social and others, wherein Trump’s victory is understood to represent the triumph of “real” Americans whose true desires are embodied by Donald Trump. 4/
After all, as events of the past year have demonstrated, deference to Trump is increasingly indistinguishable from deference to the establishment of a dictatorship. What sort of American would be OK with this? 3/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
After all, as events of the past year have demonstrated, deference to Trump is increasingly indistinguishable from deference to the establishment of a dictatorship. What sort of American would be OK with this? 3/
One enormous question is why so many elites — not just journalists and elected officials, but also business leaders, university presidents, and others — have so quickly and en masse gotten comfortable with the idea that Trump’s election win lets him do whatever he wants. 2/
November 6, 2025 at 12:21 AM
One enormous question is why so many elites — not just journalists and elected officials, but also business leaders, university presidents, and others — have so quickly and en masse gotten comfortable with the idea that Trump’s election win lets him do whatever he wants. 2/